


Dangerous Habits

by closetcellist



Category: Battle for London in the Air
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-30
Updated: 2016-10-30
Packaged: 2018-08-27 22:54:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,015
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8420329
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/closetcellist/pseuds/closetcellist
Summary: Dr. Suttler meets the newest member of the base. It is not a first meeting.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Takes place after both Dr. Jhandir's and Andrew's round 5 stories.
> 
> Suggested complementary music: "Whiter/Straighter," by Adaline (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fd9-u4uyLWc)

It had been a difficult month for Dr. Irving Suttler.

If asked, he would have sworn that it was longer; while he was still dedicated to the Rebellion and its cause, and really everyone else at the base, it took an enormous amount of energy to get up and deal with Dr. Jhandir every day and he was already feeling drained when he snuck away into the office to grab a minute to himself. He had not realized the room was already occupied, and was about to apologize when he processed who he was actually looking at. Instead of words, what escaped him was one very loud, high-pitched laugh, before he slapped a hand over his own mouth to stop the rest from escaping. That particular nervous habit hadn’t made an appearance in years, and until now, until seeing Lord Beck again, he’d hoped he had simply outgrown it.

Lord Beck had apparently not known Dr. Suttler was present at the base either, though he was betrayed by his expression, not his voice. He quickly crossed over to close the door to the office. “Pull yourself together, man,” Lord Beck murmured, turning back to Dr. Suttler, effectively blocking the closed door and trapping the doctor with him for the moment.

“Why are _you_ here?” Dr. Suttler asked in a strained whisper, as soon as he felt he could control his vocalizations.

“I’ve had a change of heart,” Lord Beck said, listening at the door for a moment. Nothing like voices filtered through, so it seemed unlikely they would be overheard.

“But why are you _here_?” Dr. Suttler asked.  He had heard the news of Lord Beck’s decision to join the Rebellion, but never in his most frenetic nightmares had he assumed he would join _this_ base.

“I was told this was where my skills would be of most use,” Lord Beck said. “Though there do seem to be rather more acquaintances from my past than I’d expected to see. I suppose you’ll just have to transfer,” Lord Beck said, shrugging.

“Excuse me?” Dr. Suttler asked, gaping at him for a moment. “First of all, I’ve been with the Rebellion for years as a member of good standing, and I’d think even you could recognize that kind of seniority. And second of all…I can’t.”

“Why not?” Lord Beck asked. It seemed a reasonable enough thing to request—people just didn’t get along sometimes, and if you had a limited number of doctors it seemed prudent to spread them around a bit. “Surely it isn’t that difficult a thing to arrange.”

“I can’t transfer to another base because Dr. Jhandir has been blackmailing me,” Dr. Suttler admitted after an uncomfortable moment of silence. “He’s rude and horrible and he makes me do all of the most tedious possible tasks, because I can’t leave or complain about them. It’s degrading.”

Lord Beck didn’t stop himself from raising an eyebrow at that.

“Oh, _don’t_ ,” Dr. Suttler said, bitterly, scowling.  “You’re not above this—if he knows about me that means he knows about you too.”

“Why would he have to know about me?” Lord Beck asked, almost offended by the suggestion. “I don’t know what kind of other indiscretions you’ve committed—“

Dr. Suttler was suddenly quite furious. “Don’t you dare finish that thought, _Thaddeus_ ,” he practically hissed in an effort to keep his voice down. “Even if he doesn’t know about you, I’m not taking the blame for this alone. Not again. But he does know about you, because you’re here. He’s set this whole thing up, I promise you that. Maybe you’ve forgotten what he’s like, but I’ve been dealing with him every day and I know that he’s behind this.”

“I know that Anil’s current state is mostly my fault—” Lord Beck tried, a hint of self-pity creeping into his voice at what was surely the beginning of a long monologue.

“I see you still give yourself credit at the wrong times,” Dr. Suttler interrupted, unmoved and unimpressed. “Really, you could never create something worse than yourself. And he _is_ worse than you, as shocking as that might seem. He’s trying to destroy me, and I’ve never done anything to him. Think, for a moment, what he’s going to try to do to you.”

Lord Beck opened his mouth to protest, but in the end he hesitated and that hesitation betrayed him.

“I thought so,” Dr. Suttler said. “So. I think, given the circumstances…we’ll have to work together.”

“But Faye—”

Dr. Suttler narrowed his eyes. “I’ve heard enough about Faye to last my entire existence. I didn’t say we should have another affair; I said we should work together. I need help to get rid of Dr. Jhandir. I can’t do this on my own.” He held out his hand for Lord Beck to shake. “Well?”

Lord Beck took it after only a moment, sealing the deal with a firm handshake. “Agreed. Anil does seem to have gotten a bit full of himself since I last saw him.”

“I’m glad your heart’s not divided about him, at least,” Dr. Suttler muttered, letting go.

An interested second of silence snuck between them. “You remember my poems?” Lord Beck asked, quietly, his expression inscrutable.

Dr. Suttler crossed his arms and looked away, the tension in the room slipping away to something else.  “Of course I do. No one else ever wrote me poems.”

Lord Beck hummed softly to himself. “A shame,” he posited, watching Dr. Suttler carefully.

At that, Dr. Suttler turned away, giving up the last pretense of still having the higher ground. “The whole damned thing is a shame,” he muttered, referring to at least three separate situations at the same time.

Lord Beck let a beat of silence pass undisturbed before he spoke again. “I’ll see you around, Irving,” he said, almost gently, before he opened the door and slipped out, leaving Dr. Suttler alone in the room again.

Dr. Suttler listened to the door close, his shoulders slumping when he was sure Lord Beck was gone. It really was an unfairly difficult month.


End file.
